The Cumberland Plateau Water Authority will continue developing its regional infrastructure plans despite City of Crossville voters rejecting a utility asset transfer referendum.
CPWA General Manager Jeff Dyer said public confusion and misinformation surrounding the ballot language heavily influenced the election outcome. He said the need to plan for a regional water future has not changed.
“The referendum may be behind us, but the need to plan for that regional water future, it hasn’t changed and neither has the CPWA’s mission,” Dyer said. “Our focus, it’s not simply about a merger. It’s still about building a stronger, more effective and financially sustainable water system for the people of Cumberland County and the future of the Cumberland Plateau.”
Dyer said the utility currently serves more than 17,000 customers after consolidating three separate providers over the last 18 months. Dyer said the agency will evaluate future water sources by joining the Plateau Water Planning Partnership to manage regional population growth.
“I’ve said from the very beginning that water doesn’t recognize city limits or county lines and the challenges for regional need to reflect that, needs to be regional efforts and approach to solving these problems,” Dyer said. “So while I respect the City of Crossville’s decision, we’re going to remain committed to being a good neighbor.”
Dyer said the asset transfer restriction stems from a local charter designed to protect city property around Meadow Park Lake.
“This was just an obstacle,” Dyer said. “It’s not a ‘no’. It’s not the city’s never going to work with the Water Authority. This was all created by a charter that is protecting a particular piece of property around Meadow Park Lake. That’s what this referendum was. So as we move forward, I think we continue to get more information to the public to where it makes more sense.”
Dyer said merging independent utilities is a generational transformation that requires time for economies of scale to fully play out. Dyer said the authority has already cut operational overhead through its initial consolidations.
“Coming together does take some time for all of those efficiencies and economies of scale and customer impact,” Dyer said. “It does take some time for some of those to play out. Although some are immediate, there’s going to continue to be future progress made and every time we have other mergers or partnerships with surrounding utilities, we’ll always do that in a method where the customers win.”
Dyer said the topic of regionalization will ultimately return as the public continues to learn how consolidation affects long-term water rates.